Current-motor.



0. D. BOTH.

CURRENT MOTOR..

APPLmA'rIoN FILED 0011. so, 1911.

Patented s911124, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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ga@ 7J /.f// l A TGR/v O. D. BOOTH.

CURRENT MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 001. 3o. 1911.

Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

2 -BHEBTS-SHBBT 2.

MEO/111% WITNESS!! s COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0..WAsH|Nu'r0N, DA cY lUNITEDsTATEs PATENT OFFICE. t

foscAR D. BOOTH, or` EVERETT, wAsHINGToN, AssIGNoR To IDEAL DEVELOPMENTCOMPANY, or EVERETT, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION.

CURRENT-MOTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. l Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

Application filed October, 1911. Serial No. 657,616.

To all whom 'it may concern.' 1 `Be it known that I, `OSCAR D. BOOTH, acitizen of the United States, residing lat Everett, in the county ofSnohomish, State of `Vlashington, have Vinvented a new and usefulImprovement in Current-Motors, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to current y motors and comprises certainimprovements which will be hereinafter described and particularlypointed out in the claims. y

The object of my invention is to'improve and simplify such devices, tomake them cheaper to construct, more reliable in operation and moreeffective in their working.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention in the form whichis now preferred by me. y

" Figure 1 is an elevation of my device looking down stream, theup-stream wheel being removed to better show the supporting frame. Fig.2 is a plan in section along the line of the transmission shaft. Fig. 3is an edge view of one of the wheels upon a large scale. y

The power generating element of my present invention consists of one ormore wheels of the general typerepresented by a propeller wheel, thesebeing secured to a shaft which `'extends in the direction of the flow ofthe current, and being submerged vin and turned by the current. I haveshown two such wheels 1, 1, secured to a short shaft 10, which shaftturns in bearings 30 in a hollow box or frame member 3. This places onewheel upstream from the frame and one downstream therefrom. Within thebox 3 a bevel gear 4 is secured to the shaft so as to serve, inconjunction with the downstream face of the box, as athrust bearing forsaid shaft. A transmission shaft 50 enters this box from one side andhas a bevel gear 40 secured thereto and meshing with the gear 4.Surrounding shaft 50 is a tube 5 which is in communication with the box3 and supports bearings 51 for the transmission shaft 50. Thecommunication between the tube 5 and the box 3 needs be but a slightone, only suicient to transfer the pressure of the oil with which tube 5is intended to be filled to the oil with which box 3 is filled so as toreplace from tube 5 all leakage from box 3 through the bearings of thewheel shaft 10. The leakage through a small groove in each of the upperbearings of shaft 50 is suflicient for this'purpose. The tube 5 extendsupward and laterally toward the bank of the stream toa point above thesurface of the water, and is to be kept filled with oil to a level`above the water so as to `provide a pressurewithin the tube 5 and box 3greater than that of the surrounding water, thus preventing Water-bornegrit from entering the bearings. A supporting frame consisting of theparts 11, 1l, is secured to box 3 and extends downwardly to beneath thebottom of the wheels and is designed to rest upon the stream bed. Arms12 extendlaterally in opposite directions from the bearing box 3 tobeyond the periphery of the wheels, and bars 13 connect with their outerends and extend upstream and connect with'an an- "d:

choring cablell, to resist the pressureof the current. The wheels, oneof which is shown 1n edge view In Fig. 3, have vanes which, in crosssection, are concaved upon M their upstream face, 15, so that as thewater .not do if this surface were straighttran'sf versely. In addition,the blades are twisted, so that the angle with the current is increasedas their outer end is approached. This compensates for the more rapidmovement of their outer ends through the water, the desire being toproduce a relatively constant rotative efficiency at all points in thelength of the blades. The wheel which I prefer to use has these featuresembodied therein, although differently shaped wheels may be used in adevice embodying the other features of my invention. I claim as myinvention- 1. In a current motor, in combination, a wheel having bladesurfaces at an angle to the direction of the flow of the stream, anaxial shaft secured to the wheel, a Vhollow body receiving said shaftand carrying the bearings therefor, a power shaft also entering saidhollow body, a power transmission mechanism within the hollow in saidbody and connecting said shafts, and a tubular body surrounding thepower shaft and communicating with the chamber containing thetransmission gearing fwhereby a lubricant under pressure may be suppliedto said chamber. y Y l 2. A current motor com rising' a bladed Wheelhaving its blade su to the current, a shaft for said wheel, a framehaving bearings for said shaft andl comprising .members adapted torestupon the stream bedk and carry the wheel above' said bed, and a hollowarmextending trans'- versely of the'current and with one end extendingabovethe water level, a transmission shaft Within said hollow arm, adriving connection between said transmissionshaft and the wheel shaft,and a box like memberl inclosing said driving Connection andcommunicating with said hollow arm.

.3.,In a current motor, in combination, a wheel., having angularlyplaced blades and with its axis extending in the direction of thecurrent, a shaft secured to said wheel, a frame having bearings for saidshaft, and also having legs adapted to 4support said wheel from andabove the stream bed, a hollow arm extending from s'aidframetransversely the current and upwardly to above the water surface, staybars extending upstream from said frame and adapted to be secured to ananchoring cable, and a power transmission mechanism extending from saidwheel through said hollow arm to the surface. l

4; In a current motor, in combination, a propeller wheel and its shaft,a frame having bearings for said shaft, arms extending froml said frameto beyond theperiphery of the wheel, bars extending from the outer endsof said arms up-stream and there being joinedl andadapted to connectwith an an aces at 'an angle' rsaidfrarne towvai'dthe bank,'and meansfor transmitting the power generated by the wheel to the shore alongsaid arm,

` 5. A current motor comprising a power wheel having blades withsurfaces angularly placed tothe current, a shaft therefor, in

line with the-current, a box carrying bear- -ings for the wheel shaftand through which said shaft passes, a bevel gear secured to said wheelshaft within said box, a'transmission shaft entering said box, a bevelgear onthetransmission shaft engaging' the bevel gear upon the wheelshaft, a tubecommunicat-ing withthevbox yand surrounding thetransmission shaft Vand extending to above the Water, and means for-xingsaid mechanis'm with the power wheelsubmerged.

6. In aV current motor, in combination, a pair of propeller wheelssecured in separated positions upon a common shaft, a hollow frameforming a closed chamber surrounding said shaft between said wheels andcarrying bearings for said shaft, a tubular member extending from theside of said chamber and communicating therewith to above the waterlevel, a power shaft extending within said tubular member and enteringthe said chamber, and bevel gear connections between said shafts withinsaid cham-r ber, whereby said shafts and their connections may belubricated by filling said tubular member with lubricant.

OSCAR D. BOOTH.

WVitnesses:v i. A SCHUYLER DURYEE, PERoY GARDINER.

Copies of this patent may` be obtained for rvfe cents each', byvaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

